7/13/2005 @ 10:00AM

Wizard Rock

Libraries and rock bands are not a natural association. Unless you’re the DeGeorge brothers, that is.

Inspired by J.K. Rowling‘s popular book series, the musical duo take to the stage as “Harry and the Potters” at venues such as The New York Public Library. Their song are the likes of “The Human Hosepipe” and “I am a Wizard.” Eighteen-year-old Joe DeGeorge plays keyboard and sings as “Harry, Year Four;” older brother Paul, 26, lends his vocals and guitar skills as “Harry, Year Seven.”

There is a rock star-like mania that accompanies the launch of every Harry Potter title.
Scholastic
, the U.S. publisher of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has been trumpeting its record print run for weeks. Retailers from
Amazon.com
to
Wal-Mart Stores
are trying to smash records for books ordered. So it was perhaps only a matter of time before the boy wizard zapped up an actual rock star. Or thereabouts.

With their Hogwarts-inspired v-neck sweaters, ties and specs, the Norwood, Mass.-based brothers bear a striking resemblance to the fictitious character on stage.

But like their music, their attire also has some edge. “We sort of embellished upon Harry’s traits a little bit,” Paul smiles. “To pull off the band convincingly, we felt like we had to make Harry into a punk rocker.” From waist down, at least. That explains the studded belts, jeans and sneaks.

Singing songs about wizards, Quidditch and the Hogwarts School, the duo has been rocking bookstores and libraries across the U.S. “We’ll play pretty much anywhere,” says Paul. And he’s not kidding–they have a doughnut shop and a hotdog jamboree under their belts, and there’s a pizza place among the 30 shows on their schedule this summer. Earning anywhere from zero to a few hundred bucks a show, the duo isn’t raking in Rowling’s billions, but they may be having just as much fun.

“I think it’s great to see a ton of different people coming out to shows and rocking together,” says Joe. “It’s almost like a unifying experience, because you see little kids and hipsters and punk rockers all together in the same place.”

To think, this hipster group was born out of near disaster three years ago. All but one of the bands scheduled to perform in the DeGeorge’s back shed had cancelled. But rather than panic, the brothers decided to act on an idea that had been incubating for some time. Sitting down at their kitchen table, they penned seven Potter songs in an hour.

The quirky duo has added some 30 songs since that summer in the shed. Though their music is not yet available at
Napster
or Apple Computer‘s
iTunes store, the DeGeorges sell their two CDs on their Web site and at their concerts.

Like the one this past Thursday night, when the band nearly filled the New York Public Library’s 250-plus auditorium seats. The DeGeorge’s had the audience on its feet–singing and dancing to their wizard rock.

Fans were split between book lovers and music lovers. Kevin Gosa, 25, was one of the latter, at his second Harry and the Potters show. “I haven’t read the books,” the musician admits. “I just like the music; it’s so clever.”

After the show, fans swarmed the stage to pick up CDs, t-shirts and autographs. Some just wanted to get close to the young rockers and others to show off their own Hogwarts attire–that’s right, the DeGeorges weren’t the only ones donning red- and yellow-striped ties that night. One pair of eager teen fans, both sporting hand-painted t-shirts with Potter quotes, purchased six t-shirts and then handed over homemade Harry Potter cupcakes to the younger of the DeGeorge brothers.

This past February, the brothers went where their silver Pottermobile minivan couldn’t take them–a weeklong tour in England, home of author and inspiration J.K. Rowling. The pair didn’t work in a visit with Rowling while there.

In fact, the DeGeorges have never tried to contact the British author. “Part of it is that I don’t want to find out that she doesn’t like us,” admits Paul. “Then I’d feel guilty–I’d rather keep it our own little secret.”